Detachable tuft section brush



Patented Oct. 24, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTIOFFICE DETACHABLE TUFT SECTION BRUSH William Lawrence Krebs, Plainfield, N. J.

Application February 1, 1947, Serial No. 725,855

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in brushes having detachable tuft sections. It is particularly adaptable for use with paint brushes and brushes for other similar purposes.

A detachable tuft section brush has certain practical and commercially important advantages compared with brushes of the more conventional style having fixed tuft sections. When, for example, the bristles in a fixed section brush become worn or are otherwise unusable, a perfectly good brush handle may necessarily be scrapped along with the brush. With the less expensive brushes the handle represents but a small cost, however, in institutions where large numbers of brushes are consumed daily this rather insignificant cost per brush handle becomes a sizeable matter of expense.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a brush assembly having a tuft section which is quickly and easily detachable from the brush handle, and, when the handle is assembled with the tuft section, a firm and adequate joinder of parts is eifected. A further object of my invention is to provide such a detachable tuft section brush which may be readil manufactured, having a handle which will be useful for a long period of time, and composed of parts which are not deleteriously affected by the action of the usual materials with which brushes are used, or by .brush cleaning fluids.

In its preferred embodiment my invention contemplates a brush handle carrying a resilient element which may be Quickly and easily inserted within a brush tuft reinforcing section and then deformed to produce internal gripping pressure against the reinforcing section to attach the handle and tuft section. The resilient element is replaceable and the devices employed therewith to give deformation are so arranged as to result in maximum utility and to add strength to the brush handle.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation View showing my invention as it is incorporated in a paint brush, with the tuft section separated from the handle, and

Figure 2 is a view similar to that in Figure 1, showing the tuft section and the handle assembled.

Referring to Figure 1, the handle H! is shown detached from the tuft section II. The tubular metal supporting ferrule 12 which reinforces the tuft section is suitably affixed to the brush bristles in any well known manner as by vulcanizing in rubber, insuring a good bond therebetween.

Above the line H, which indicates the extremity of the bristles imbedded in Vulcanized material, the ferrule forms an open end socket I2A for the insertion therein of an attaching part of the handle [0. In some instances it may be desirable to include a rippled bead I5 extending circumferentially of the ferrule socket section IZA increasing the rigidity of the socket and also providing an inside and outside surface corrugation. For'increased strength there may be added in the trough of the outside corrugation a continuous reinforcing band [6 which may, as shown in the drawings, be a steel wire of circular cross-section or,'if preferable, a wire of any other suitable shape such as rectangular. likewise be provided permitting the use of several reinforcing bands depending upon the requirements or, for inexpensive brushes, the bead and the reinforcing bands may be eliminated, the handle of my invention, which is about to be described, being adaptable to ferrule sockets as they are presently produced with the production tools and equipment for nailed handles.

The handle [0 is constructed of wood, although a light weight alloy die casting or other suitable material may be substituted therefor, if desired, and it conforms in shape to the usual paint brush handle. On its upper end, handle H1 is squared off and accommodates a knurled head, elongated fastening screw or rod 2| which is shaped to (3011-, form to the handle and extends centrally downwardly through a clearance hole provided in the handle. The lower end of handle I9 is likewise squared off and a fiat compression plate I8 .is fastened thereto by means of the special shouldered guide pin screws l9. I8 is a resilient deformable member 22 molded of rubber or synthetic rubber and conforming in shape and size with ferrule socket IZA. .Clear-. ance holes are cored through member 22 for the pin screws !9 and for the elongated central stud 23 and a slight taper on the sides and radius corners permits unobstructed insertion within the ferrule socket [2A. A second compression plate l8 which confines member 22 upwardly is guided by pin screws l9 and is held in place by the threaded engagement of stud 23 with the downwardly extending fastening screw 2|.

Stud 23 is rigidly secured to plate I8 as by soldering or spot welding to prevent its turning with respect to the plate. By extending this stud upwardly beyond the minimum cross-section of handle ll] it is possible to increase the overall physical strength of the handle and also make the t readed engagement with screw 2| remote from Multiple corrugations may Directly below plate contamination by paints or other material in which the brush is used, A drilled hole 25 is provided in the knurled conical end of screw 2| so that a pin or nail or other implement may be used to tighten or to loosen the threaded connection between stud 23 and screw 21 and a thrust washer 24 is interposed between the head of screw 2| and the top end of handle to absorb wear as the screw is turned. Before joining the handle assembly with the tuft section, the screw 2| is loosely engaged with stud 23 sufficiently to hold the various described parts together but no appreciable tightening is effected such that the member 22 becomes distorted.

Referring now to Figure 2 showing the assembly of parts forming the completed brush, the member 22 has been inserted in the ferrule socket 12A. The cap screw 2| has been tightened and plate [8 is drawn upwardly thereby decreasing the spacing between compression plates 18 and I8 axially of the paint brush handle and thus displacing the material of resilient member 22 laterally. This displacement creates a distributed pressure contact against the inside walls of socket 12A insuring a tight frictional grip between these parts. During distortion material of member 22 also fiows to and fills the inside troughs of the corrugations of bead if these are used, enhancing the grip between the respective parts against the tendency for them to be pulled apart. When it is desired to remove the handle from the tuft section the reverse operation is performed by loosening cap screw 2| permitting member 22 to regain its molded shape of Figure 1 whence the parts may be easily separated.

Inasmuch as the ferrule socket substantially completely covers member 22 when the parts are assembled, there is little tendency for any deleterious action on this part by the vehicles of paints or by cleaning fluids, but if it should be necessary, gasketing could be resorted to between the lower end of the handle and the ferrule 12 to create a fluid tight seal. Furthermore, substitutes for rubber or synthetic rubber may be used for member 22 which are not affected by the fluids which it comes in contact with, just so long as the necessary resilience is maintained.

If after continued use the resilient member 22 becomes permanently distorted or worn or otherwise unusable, a new part may be easily substituted. Should a bristle or tuft section become worn or defective or if for any other reason it is desirable to change the tuft section as when changing from one grade or color of paint to another or when changing from work requiring long bristles to that which requires short bristles, then such a change may be quickly and easily made.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the construction of the parts described, for example, the plate l8 may be dispensed with if the handle I 0 should be constructed of metal rather than of wood. Likewise, the stud 23 may extend entirely through the handle and may have external threads for association with an internally threaded nut on the upper end of the handle. Changes in the shape and size of the component parts and material substitutions may also be made without departing from the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A brush of the class described comprising, in combination, a tuft section having a metal reinforcing ferrule, a handle receiving socket of non-circular form formed by the ferrule, a cor rugated bead in the metal ferrule extending cir cumferentially of the handle receiving socket, reinforcing wire in an outside groove of the cor. rugated bead, a brush handle corresponding in form at one end with said socket and including a circular form manipulating section at the other end, a resilient non-circular deformable member for insertion in said socket abutting the end of the handle, a compression plate confining the deformable member against the handle, and screw threaded fastening means between the circular end of the handle and the compression plate to exert pressure against the resilient deformable member axially of the brush handle.

2. A brush of the class described comprising, in combination, a tuft section having a handle receiving socket of non-circular form, a brush handle corresponding in form at one end with said socket and including a circular form manipulating section at the other end, a first rigid compression plate afiixed to one end of the brush handle, a resilient non-circular deformable member for insertion in said socket abutting the end of the compression plate, a second rigid compression plate spaced from the handle to confine the deformable member against the first compression plate, spaced pins secured to said first plate and engaging said second plate to maintain the said compression plates in alignment, and screw threaded fastening means between the circular end of the handle and the second compression plate to exert pressure against the resilient member axially of the brush handle to create lateral displacement thereof against the inside surfaces of the handle receiving socket.

WILLIAM LAWRENCE KREBS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 702,712 Elstone June 17, 1902 831,340 Graul Sept. 18, 1906 1,767,986 Johnson June 24, 1930 1,859,038 Irgens May 17, 1932 1,881,777 MacPherson Oct. 11, 1932 l 2,217,369 Jacobsen Oct. 8, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 172,321 Switzerland Dec. 17, 1934 

